The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body by David Macaulay, Richard Walker (With)

From Barnes & Noble

Imaginative adult readers already know David Macaulay as the author behind The New Way Things Work, Pyramid, Castle, Cathedral, and a host of other illustrated books that explain the dynamics of buildings and machines. In The Way We Work, he introduces young readers to the workings of the one structure they cannot ignore: their own body. In seven carefully researched sections, he guides us on a fantastic visual journal through the interlocking physiological systems that enable to sustain ourselves and cope with physical challenges.

From the Publisher

Many of us spend most of our lives oblivious to even basic information about the most amazing thing we'll ever take for granted-our own bodies. In The Way We Work, David Macaulay gives readers an opportunity to discover just how remarkable the human body really is. This comprehensive and entertaining resource reveals the inner workings of the human body and all of its systems and mechanisms, as only David Macaulay could. Page after page of beautifully illustrated spreads detail everything from cells to the bones and organs they build, clearly explaining the function of each, and offering up-close glimpses, unique cross-sections and perspectives, and even a little humor along the way. This book is for you and everyone you know. It can serve as a reference for children of all ages, families, teachers, and anyone who has questions about how their body works. This informative and engaging guide introduces you to you, and you will come away with a new appreciation of the amazing world inside yourself. When you open the cover you will see how David Macaulay builds a body and explains THE WAY WE WORK. There is no other book like it!

The New York Times - James Gorman

Macaulay has taken on the task of explaining the body from atoms on up. He does this with lively color, scientific accuracy and his familiar, and shamelessly hokey, humor…There is plenty of classical anatomy. The illustrations of cell division, the wall of the small intestine and other subjects are models of clarity in biological illustration. But the ruling idea behind the book is of the body as a mechanism. That's a good working idea, particularly for young readers. But the book inspires confidence for the rest of us, too. I have written about science for 30 years, but I would happily turn to The Way We Work for a comprehensible explanation of how muscles are put together. I also lingered happily over the explanation of the lymph system, which rarely gets the attention it deserves.

The Washington Post - Abby McGanney Nolan

The appeal of Macaulay's books is not limited to 10-year-olds, of course, and the daunting amount of information here (explaining such phenomena as actin filaments and antibody attacks) is balanced by his playful and ingenious pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. These pictures offer great detail and helpful analogies.

The Washington Post - McGanney Abby Nolan

The appeal of Macaulay's books is not limited to 10-year-olds, of course, and the daunting amount of information here (explaining such phenomena as actin filaments and antibody attacks) is balanced by his playful and ingenious pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. These pictures offer great detail and helpful analogies.

Publishers Weekly

A Caldecott Medalist and MacArthur Fellow, perhaps best known for his pithily written, illuminatingly illustrated The Way Things Work,Macaulay has devoted himself for years to this illustrated guide aimed at demystifying the workings of the human body. Picture book or not, adults may constitute a significant percentage of its eventual audience. The book is astonishingly comprehensive, beginning with the structure of a cell, traveling through various systems (e.g., respiratory, digestive, etc.) and ending with childbirth. Followers of Macaulay will expect some wit, and it is evident, not just in captions but in throwaways, as in an explanation of taste that acknowledges that smell is "the senior partner." However, the writing is often highly technical ("When a nonsteroid hormone arrives at its target cell, it binds to a receptor protein projecting from the cell's surface"). The full-color drawings may help readers understand the language, but despite the friendly format, with one topic per spread, this is not a book for casual browsing nor for most preteens. On the other hand, motivated teens will feel they've gone to premed heaven. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)

VOYA

The wonder that is David Macaulay is at it again. The author, a genius at cutaway views of everyday architectural structures in books such as Mosque (Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin, 2003/VOYA February 2004) and the perennial favorite, The Way Things Work (1988/VOYA April 1999), takes on his biggest construction challenge yet in the human body. Using clever chapter headings, such as "Air Traffic Control" (respiratory system) and "Who's in Charge Here?" (the brain), Macaulay's accessible and amusing descriptions of the body's inner workings result in a fascinating journey. His color illustrations break down body systems from the most elemental level, the single cell, and work their way through to increasingly complex organs and systems. Eventually he ties them together for a complete overview of the way we work. His text is irreverent. "Slice and Crush" is all about teeth and chewing. His drawing of a hand pulling the left eye out of its socket is just gross enough to engage young readers into a description of seeing. This play of whimsical albeit accurate illustrations versus technical text should work well as the reading level is a tad mature for the low end of the book's intended audience. The work of this Caldecott medal winner and recipient of the McArthur grant is always a must-have in any library. The index was not seen in the advance review copy. Reviewer: Beth E. Andersen

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up

An ambitious undertaking even for Macaulay, this volume tackles the human body in the author's usual style. Divided into seven sections that connect related systems, the book covers cellular structure at the atomic scale, DNA, and metabolism; respiration and circulation; digestion and elimination; the nervous and endocrine systems; the immune system and fighting infections; the skeleton, musculature, and movement; and reproduction. Macaulay combines a detailed description with frequently whimsical, yet very informative, color diagrams to illustrate the body's functions. At times challenging due to the nature of the topic (e.g., cellular chemistry, nerve impulses), the text incorporates the same subtle humor found in the artwork to enhance the book's appeal without sacrificing its utility. As Macaulay shies away from no topic in his frank, scientific discussions, the result is a very complete description of the "mechanical" aspect of human anatomy that is at once enlightening, entertaining, and a visual delight.-Jeffrey A. French, formerly at Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH

Kirkus Reviews

In the same style as The Way Things Work (1988), lively, vivid colored-pencil illustrations accompany a very detailed text explaining the design and function of the human body. Beginning at the atomic level and describing the structure and workings of human cells with an amount of information that nearly rivals high-school biology books, Macaulay and Walker then move on to DNA, tissue types, organs and organ systems, immune response, movement and reproduction. The intricacy and wonder of the human body is celebrated, but this is never an easy read. The lighthearted illustrations featuring speech balloons, tiny workers and a variety of other humorous touches will attract a fairly young age group, but the amount and complexity of the written information may daunt all but the most ardent enthusiasts. This is without doubt a browsing volume; the amusing but general chapter headings—"Air Traffic Control"—makes location of topics a bit of a challenge. Though it's an unlikely choice for a little light reading, the accuracy, detail and depth of information make this an essential addition to most collections. (glossary, index, appendix) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)

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